My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 301 The Mischievous Fox

It's not a bad thing that male leopards are a bit fierce.

It's no big deal if the tail breaks off; it's not like it's meant to be admired.

Moreover, once it was captured and placed inside the cave, Chen Ling had no intention of releasing it back outside.

His plan was to catch a female leopard later, mate the two leopards, and have cubs. Those cubs were the ones worth raising.

The rest is to raise them in the cave and help them restore their population.

When there are fewer leopards, we go deep into the mountains and release some male and female leopards in remote places.

Of course, this also depends on whether the environment allows it.

Blindly releasing them will harm them.

……

"These claws are really sharp. I didn't even feel them. When did this thing tear my clothes apart?"

Chen Ling, pulling at his shirt with its long, gaping tears, said with a mixture of shock and frustration, "I clearly held the fork horizontally and braced its claws."

"It's okay if your clothes are torn. As long as you're alright, it's fine. If your clothes are torn, you can mend them and wear them again. But if you were injured by a leopard, it wouldn't just be a matter of getting a couple of stitches."

Chen Yongsheng, a man with big eyes, a big nose, and thick lips, glared at Chen Ling and said, "You kid, you've got some nerve! Your fourth grandfather and I called you, and you didn't answer. You just grabbed a shotgun and went to chase a leopard. It was a leopard, not a wildcat! You really are..."

Chen Gannian didn't say anything else. Seeing Chen Ling return unharmed, he grinned and said, "Fugui, when did you become so fierce? You pinned the leopard down like Wu Song fighting the tiger, riding on its back and punching it twice on the head. It was dizzying to watch. I was afraid the leopard would roll over and scratch you."

"But then again, this was too risky. I just told you about Lao Diao's situation a while ago. Don't be so reckless in the future."

Seeing that the old man was conscious, Chen Ling explained the situation of the leopard to the two of them.

In fact, many villagers now know that the leopard lost its tail and was bitten by Heiwa.

However, the specifics are unknown.

I've been hesitant to go up the mountain lately, so I've been doing it much less often.

“It’s not that I’m being reckless, but this leopard has been wandering around here a lot lately. There are a lot of geese and other wild animals in the Wild Man Gully in the mountains. This leopard has made that area its gourd, and it doesn’t seem to be leaving.”

"Fourth Grandfather, do you think this will work? If it keeps lingering and won't leave, how will our village go up the mountain to pick walnuts, gather wild grapes, or dig up wild yams? We'll have to ask someone to accompany us if we want to go up the mountain, which is too much trouble."

"Oh, is that so? That's quite worrying. How's the leopard? Did you chase after it and catch it?"

"I hit it, but didn't kill it. However, it was badly injured. I chased it all the way, and its blood flowed all the way. Finally, it ran into the gorge west of Yeren Gully. I didn't dare to chase it further in. Based on my estimation, this leopard with such severe injuries wouldn't survive."

Chen Ling shook his head and sighed, seemingly regretting that he hadn't killed the leopard.

He has now taken the leopard into his cave.

This also relieved the villagers of one of their concerns.

Everyone can now go up the mountain for activities as usual.

If we don't find an excuse, people won't dare to go up the mountain in the future.

"Wow, good heavens, so our Fugui is a leopard-slaying hero too, almost on par with Wu Song."

Chen Gannian patted Chen Ling on the shoulder, "The village said you could lift a 300-jin ram, and I didn't believe it. I didn't expect you to be able to chase a leopard all over the mountain."

Seeing that his father was now sober, Chen Yongsheng praised him, saying, "Your stubbornness is no joke. Even Yang Gangdan can't compare to you. It would take at least two of them to rival you."

"You see, from now on people in Chenwangzhuang will be talking about you, just like they're talking about Yang Gangdan. They'll be talking about your reputation."

"You have a good reputation!"

Laughing and chatting, the three of them drove the sheep down the mountain together.

Today, the two of them came to the mountain. It was Chen Gannian who got confused while herding the sheep and drove them up the mountain, where they wandered around near the cemetery.

Chen Gannian came to the mountain in a moment of confusion. His two sons knew this, so Chen Yongsheng quickly came to find him.

Neither the father nor the son expected that Chen Ling was waiting on the mountain to catch a leopard.

Chen Ling only said that he was fishing on the mountain when he accidentally encountered a leopard looking for food.

……

After they came down the mountain, news of Chen Ling killing the leopard quickly spread.

The village was bustling with activity once again.

Besides being amazed by Chen Ling's bravery and running to the farm to ask all sorts of questions, the fact that the leopard on the mountain had been driven away was also something to be happy about.

That afternoon, many people went up the mountain to harvest walnuts, chestnuts, and wild grapes.

Now that the busy farming season is over, it's time to gather some mountain produce to sell at the market and pick some wild fruits to make wine.

After his family inquired about his situation and the villagers came to ask about it and join in the fun, Chen Ling locked himself in the hunting tool room and went into the cave.

He needs to go check on the leopard. He put it in and gave it some water this morning, but hasn't done anything else yet.

As soon as they entered the cave, the leopard had already recovered from the effects of the medicine. It was lying in the woods like a cat, its two dark yellow pupils staring intently at the pheasants and birds foraging on the grass.

There are not many creatures in the cave.

But if you stay in this environment for a long time, everything becomes delicious.

The leopard entered the cave, truly a journey from one paradise on the other side of the mountain lake to another.

If this gets out.

Even the wild animals in the mountains would probably envy it.

However, Chen Ling's entrance still startled it.

With a shudder, it darted forward a few steps, scaring the birds into flying all over the place.

Then, upon discovering that the newcomer was Chen Ling, its enemy, it abruptly turned around, its eyes filled with hatred as it stared at Chen Ling. It cautiously circled around, hissing, its fangs bared, and its muscles bulging, its entire body poised to pounce at any moment.

"What's wrong? Want to eat me? Come here."

Chen Ling, unconcerned, beckoned to it, "Come here."

"Ow!"

Fueled by hatred and rage, the leopard's wild instincts were at their peak, and it couldn't tolerate such provocation, so it pounced.

But next second.

It pounced on, and then slammed back down in the same way.

It fell to the ground with a "bang".

It tumbled and rolled a few times in the grassy woods, crashing heavily into a tree.

"You little brat, you dare to pounce on me in this place?"

Chen Ling laughed. Before the leopard could even recover from crashing into the tree, he waved his hand, and the leopard immediately floated into the air.

I can't move at all.

All that remained were a pair of dark yellow eyes, wide open, staring at Chen Ling in terror, letting out a sharp hiss like someone had stepped on a cat's tail.

Chen Ling raised his finger, and it slowly rose from mid-air again.

As soon as your finger touches it, it slowly falls.

He rolled up and down, back and forth; the leopard's gaze towards him could no longer be described as mere terror.

It was howling "Awoo awoo".

They were completely terrified, practically scared out of their wits. "What? Scared yet?"

"Let's see if you still try to pounce on me. This place is great, you can't find it anywhere else. Staying put is better than anything else."

Chen Ling waved his hand and released it. As soon as the leopard was free and landed on the ground, it let out a yelp in fright and ran away with its head in its hands.

"Come back! Why are you running?"

Chen Ling reached out, smiling, and pulled the leopard back. He grabbed the fur on the back of its neck as if it were a tabby cat, ignoring its trembling appearance, and carried it into the depths of the woods.

This was in the woods behind the thatched hut. Chen Ling had a sudden thought and walked for several kilometers.

Here, Chen Ling waved his hand to clear a space and even diverted a stream to form a small creek, giving it a passable living environment.

So they threw it into the woods.

"Let me draw a circle for you first, and then I'll find you a companion and build a Leopard Mountain for you to live in."

The leopard had no interest in listening to him. Its recent experience had terrified it, and it darted up a tree, hiding among the dense foliage, staring at him with dread. It was too scared to come down.

"That's so mean, I was just joking with you, look how scared you are."

"Fine, I'm not playing with you anymore. I'm going out to tend the bees."

He was really frightened when he saw the leopard.

Chen Ling suddenly felt rather bored. Thinking that the bee colonies in the cave had been breeding well recently, he decided to go out and release the bees for a while.

There aren't many wildflowers this season, but they're not entirely absent.

So they left the cave and walked out of the hunting tool room.

……

Autumn is not the season for reading; reading for too long can easily make you sleepy.

These past few days, Wang Susu has been holding that book, "Medicinal Botany," and reading it over and over again.

I read it while holding the baby, and I read it even when the baby is asleep. Sometimes I even doze off while reading, but I can't put the book down.

It's clear that when you like something, you can easily become completely absorbed in it.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling picked up his son and told his wife to stay home and read, while he would take care of him for half a day.

Of course, he usually takes care of the child in the afternoon.

Rui Rui also likes to look for him after waking up from his afternoon nap.

When the father and son went out, Xiao Jin was playing in the orchard with three little foxes.

A while ago, there were strangers at home, and the three little foxes, being afraid of strangers, didn't come to the farm to play.

This was also because he was frightened by the two boys from his brother-in-law's family.

The two boys ran around in the orchard every day, shouting and yelling. No wonder the little foxes weren't afraid.

After Wang Qingwen and the others left, the Mid-Autumn Festival passed, and they came out to play for a while during the busy farming season. Later, people would occasionally bring their dogs to find Heiwa to mate with, and they were so frightened that they dared not show their faces for several days.

Only in the last two days, when the farm quieted down, did it become lively again, running around and playing with Xiao Jin.

Besides weasels, Rui Rui's favorite animal is foxes. He can watch these furry little creatures for half a day.

Seeing Little Jin playing with three little foxes in the distance, darting in and out of the grass, he waved his little hands and babbled, his big eyes suddenly curving into crescents, his long eyelashes slightly upturned, and he was laughing so happily.

"Haha, you like little foxes, huh? Come on, Daddy will take you fox hunting."

Chen Ling was overjoyed by her son's happy smile. She gently stroked the little guy's cheek and then carried him toward the little foxes.

These little foxes weren't actually afraid of Chen Ling when they were with Xiao Jin.

When they saw Chen Ling coming over, they squinted their eyes, perked up their big ears, wagged their tails, and rubbed their fluffy little bodies against Chen Ling's legs like little puppies.

The teasing made Rui Rui wave his little hands, squint his eyes happily, and babble, with drool dripping all over his chin.

The little fox is not afraid of people and is very lovable.

The big fox, however, was very afraid of people and never approached them.

Sometimes, when it sees the little foxes running around in front of people, it will anxiously raise its neck and let out a pitiful "Aww~ Aww~" sound to call the little foxes back.

While playing with the little fox, Chen Ling released the newly built hive of wild bees from the cave, letting them collect nectar everywhere in the orchard.

The beehive was actually just an abandoned iron barrel, which he deliberately guided the bees to build their nest inside.

So collecting the bees is very simple. Just take out the bucket at night, wait for all the bees to return to the hive, and then simply lift the bucket to collect the hive.

The afternoon sun in autumn still carried a hint of warmth.

But in the orchard, the heat was reduced to a very comfortable level.

Chen Ling carried her son along the cobblestone path, letting the gentle breeze caress her and listening to the rustling of the leaves—it was a very pleasant experience.

He carried his son out, and Xiao Jin followed closely behind with three little foxes, running and playing as they went.

As for Heiwa, he spends his days with his little yellow dog, following Wang Cunye to herd sheep on the North Mountain and also guarding the chickens on the mountain.

After walking for a while, we arrived at a lush patch of grass not far from the ditch.

The three little foxes whimpered and scurried into the bushes.

Chen Ling glanced over and followed. Inside, a white one and a red one, a large one and a small one, were lying comfortably in the soft, thick grass, fast asleep.

The white and red creatures were none other than a white calf and a mother fox.

The little white calf lay in the grass, its big head slightly lowered, its snow-white fur making one want to stroke it.

The red-furred fox was curled up, its large, bushy tail covering its face.

The little foxes ran up to it to play, but it didn't notice and was still fast asleep, sleeping soundly.

Chen Ling was also surprised to see this scene. This fox was quite popular; he had somehow become friends with his little white ox.

After the initial surprise, Chen Ling saw that the little white ox had woken up, but the fox was still fast asleep, oblivious to everything else.

She picked up her son and tiptoed over to it.

Shh, don't make a sound.

Chen Ling gave a slight nod to Xiao Jin and the little white ox.

Then, under the curious gazes of Little Gold, Little White Ox, the three little foxes, and the little one in his arms, he stretched out a finger and poked the fox's fluffy, soft, and warm belly.

This time, the silly fox finally opened its eyes. It was probably still not fully awake when it saw Chen Ling squatting next to it, and it was stunned.

After a moment of stunned silence, she was terrified, like a tabby cat whose tail had been stepped on. She leaped half a meter into the dense grass and ran away in a flash.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Having succeeded in his prank, Chen Ling burst into laughter at the scene, while Rui Rui in his arms scratched his little hands, giggling happily.

Little Gold and Little White Ox also beamed with joy, with Little White Ox rolling around happily in the grass.

Its massive body flattened the grass.

----

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(End of this chapter)